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Spendthrift Canada? Many Americans find it hard to believe. Throughout the subprime crisis that shook the United States remained Canada's economy and rock-solid banking system.

Yet, in mid-December, the Canadian government has released statistics showing that the indebtedness of Canadians surpassed that of the United States for the first time in 12 years. Share of household debt to disposable income was 148 percent in the third quarter, according to a government agency Statistics Canada, more than U.S. 147 per cent.

Canadians, it turns out, was the acquisition of large mortgages, even as the country's recent growth has led the demand for bigger and better homes. Low interest rates have encouraged Canadian consumers into debt, while banks, largely untouched by the financial crisis continued to borrow. The average size of a mortgage in Canada increased from $ 120 000 in 2004 to $ 170,000 from last spring, according to CIBC World Markets, a Canadian investment firm.

The increase in household debt is the government and central bank in a corner. The usual answer is to cool loan interest rates increasing. Bank of Canada, Mark Carney J. increased the benchmark rate three times since June 1 percent.

The problem is that rate increases to further increase the cost of mortgage service across household debt. Higher prices also attract foreign investors looking for high yield bonds. It would strengthen the dollar further: This is essentially parity with the greenback has weakened against most currencies in the last year, when the Federal Reserve pursued a loose monetary policy.

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A stronger dollar would make Canadian exports more expensive, especially in the United States, Canada's partner and fastest growing business in danger of extinction. "The Bank of Canada is in a small box to the point where the Fed and the Canadian dollar," said Douglas Porter, deputy chief economist at BMO Capital Markets in Toronto.

The Minister of Finance James M. Flaherty, trying to cool the market, too. The government has tightened the rules on payments to refinance and down, and makes it more difficult to qualify for government-insured mortgages. "Everyone knows that you think interest rates will rise over time," said Flaherty. "So people should make sure they can pay their mortgage when interest rates rise."

The central bank will weigh all these issues before the announcement of interest rates next January 18. While in December kept constant pressure to increase rates on consumer credit and slow growing. "The level of vulnerability of households remains high," said the Bank of Canada, Carney in a press conference Dec. 13. "Without a significant change in behavior, the proportion of households vulnerable to severe financial stress continue to grow."